Cambridge Analytica is shutting down following Facebook privacy scandal

Cambridge Analytica, the controversial data consultancy firm behind the recent Facebook scandal, is to close its doors.

The firm and the parent SCL Group, will file for insolvency after claiming the recent negative press had ‘driven away’ all of its customers. Offices on both sides of the Atlantic have been closed with immediate effect.

In a statement confirming the impending closure, the embattled firm said “the siege of media coverage has driven away virtually all of the Company’s customers and suppliers.”

The statement continued: “Over the past several months, Cambridge Analytica has been the subject of numerous unfounded accusations and, despite the Company’s efforts to correct the record, has been vilified for activities that are not only legal, but also widely accepted as a standard component of online advertising in both the political and commercial arenas.”

The company says the decision was “extremely painful” for the leadership, which has endured a stunning fall from prominence in recent months.

The company had been a major player in the Donald Trump presidential campaign and had even played a role in the Brexit referendum, acting on behalf of the Vote Leave campaign.

It has gone from digital kingmaker to bankruptcy filings in very short order.